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Silver Steel (film)
Silver Steel is a 2009 superhero film based on the Milwaukie Comics character of the same name. It was directed by Guy Ritchie and written by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, and Simon Kinberg. The film stars Jason Momoa, Natalie Portman, James Franco, Bradley Cooper, Emily Blunt, George Clooney, and Zachary Levi. The film ran 130 minutes and grossed $524,028,679 based on a budget of $90 million. Plot Justin Argo was only nine when his scientist parents died in a lab accident. His parents, Ryder and Isabella Argo conducted experiments on Justin that he has blocked out of his memory. Justin grew up with family friend, Marcus Matthews. Matthews also trained Justin in fighting. Justin has been friends with Angelica Starr and Tyler Rock since childhood. 21 years later, Justin and Angelica now work at the same law firm, alongside their friend Ian Wrecker. Angelica is also friends with Allison Roberts. Justin soon discovers he has the ability to turn his skin into steel whenever he chooses. This renders him invulnerable when in this state, along with super-strength. Justin reveals his new superpower to Matthews, who reveals he knew what Justin's parents were trying to do to him in the experiments, but he hid it from Justin, hoping he would never gain the powers. Crime boss Mario Lyon kills his rival and takes his empire, now intending to take over the city. Lyon attacks Matthews hospital where he works and takes the doctors hostage to get a file on Emily Morris. The head doctors refuse to do this for him, so Lyon keeps them hostage until they find the file, killing off an employee every ten minutes until they get it. The police try to make their way in, but Lyon has his army set up around the whole building. Justin arrives, in his steel form, and makes his way in, forcing Lyon to retreat, though he shoots Matthews first. Matthews is hospitalized, though it is only a minor injury. The public discovers what Justin did and label the anonymous hero, "Silver Steel". Justin decides to do more crime fighting and stops street criminals. The police are against the hero, calling him a vigilante and to leave his work to the police. Tyler begins to suspect Silver Steel is Justin, but does not say anything. Justin finally asks Angelica out on a date, and they agree for that night. Lyon realizes people think Silver Steel can stop him, so Lyon uses security footage to discover Silver Steel's identity and goes after Justin. Justin takes Angelica to a fancy restaurant, which they enjoy until Lyon attacks them. Justin gets people out safe before transforming. He fights Justin, who manages to win. However, Justin is cut after transforming back and his blood is collected by Lyon. Lyon kidnaps Matthews and forces him to inject him with a mixture Justin's blood and a chemical Justin's parents were studying. Matthews warns Lyon that this could cause Lyon to have different powers than just Justin, due to the unpredictability of the experiments. Lyon goes through with it anyway, and he gains super-speed and claws, though it costs him his ability to talk and his eyes turn orange. Lyon proceeds to slash Matthew's throat, killing him. Angelica learns Ian has a crush on her and she agrees to go out with him, so she can choose between him and Justin. Lyon attacks Tyler and Justin is forced to reveal his identity to Tyler to save him. Lyon and Justin make their way to the top of Tyler's apartment building, where they fight. Lyon reveals he killed Matthews, which makes Justin nearly throw him off the building. However, last minute he decides that if he does, he would be no better than Lyon. Justin knocks Lyon out and turns him into the police, who finally accept Silver Steel as a hero. Lyon's criminal empire dissolves, as Justin sees Angelica and Ian together, and lets them be together. Matthews is given a proper funeral, while Justin ultimately decides against revealing his identity to Angelica. In a post-credits scene, a man and a woman watch Matthews' funeral, specifically Justin, while the woman convinces the man they cannot reveal themselves yet. Cast *Jason Momoa as Justin Argo/Silver Steel *Natalie Portman as Angelica Starr *James Franco as Tyler Rock *Bradley Cooper as Ian Wrecker *Emily Blunt as Allison Roberts *George Clooney as Marcus Matthews *Zachary Levi as Mario Lyon Joe Manganiello and Sarah Chalke also appear in a post-credits scene as two unidentified people, later revealed as Justin's parents, Ryder and Isabella Argo. Reception 'Box office' Silver Steel grossed $209 million in North America and $524 million worldwide making it Guy Ritchie's biggest box-office success yet, and the 8th highest grossing film of 2009 worldwide, and domestically. 'Critical reception' The film received generally positive reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 70% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 224 reviews, with a rating average of 6.2 out of 10, with the consensus being that "Guy Ritchie's directorial style might not be quite the best fit for a new original superhero, but Silver Steel benefits from the heroic appeal of a strong performance by Jason Moma." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 1–100 reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 57 based on 34 reviews.